


Good Samaritan

by wig_powder



Category: Forever (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen, Humor, Nudity, Sneezing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-28 05:17:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21131276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wig_powder/pseuds/wig_powder
Summary: One of the challenges Henry faces after his resurrections is dealing with the whole "being reborn naked" thing. Normally that just leads to trouble, but in this case, things come out much better than expected...





	Good Samaritan

As Henry Morgan broke the surface of the river, he was immediately smacked in the face by a torrent of rainwater. He sighed, spat out the excess liquid, and swam towards shore as fast as possible. While he was glad that winter was finally over, these sudden spring downpours weren’t exactly an improvement. Having to hide in an alley exposed to the open air was bad enough; getting an extra soaking all but guaranteed he would suffer a few aftereffects. The one consolation was that there was no one around to see him emerge from the river, which would undoubtedly lead to further teasings and reprimands from Jo and the rest of the police force.

Finally reaching the bank, Henry pushed himself to his feet and jogged towards the nearest building, not wanting to push his luck. Hopefully, he could find a bit of shelter from the rain, and then get his bearings enough to call Abe to pick him up. A gust of wind blew past him, and he felt himself shiver. Just what he needed right now, even _more_ reasons to be cold.

He was in luck; after hopping a chain-link fence, he could see an alley between two apartment buildings that didn’t appear to be particularly full of garbage. Ducking into the alley, he retreated underneath the overhanging fire escape and crouched down to conserve his heat, rubbing his shoulders and wrists to get the circulation moving. Not that it would do him much good, but a little warmth was better than nothing.

Though he was mostly sheltered from the rain, a few of the larger drops still landed on him every thirty seconds or so, which caused him to flinch, and subsequently to shiver. As the disorientation from his resurrection faded away and he stood up to look for a landmark, one such drop landed directly on his nose. The sudden irritation proved to be too much, and Henry cupped his hands over his mouth just in time to catch the sneeze. “_Krshh!_”

He heard the soft _clack-clack-clack_ of women’s heels on concrete, and before he could do much more than lower his hands, a woman appeared at the entrance to the alley, holding a light grey umbrella over her head. Even though he was a fair distance back, Henry could see the look of horror on her face. “Oh my goodness…” she gasped.

“I’m dreadfully sorry, miss,” Henry said, lowering his hands a little further for the sake of modesty, “I was just…”

“You poor thing!” she interrupted, moving into the alley, “Were you mugged?”

“…Yes.” Henry said, figuring it was the quickest and easiest explanation.

“And they didn’t even have the decency to leave you with any clothes! Did you get a good look at them?”

“I’m afraid not,” Henry said, wincing at how natural the lies felt coming out of his mouth, “They had an arm around my throat and dragged me here before I realized what was happening. Then something hit the back of my head, and the next thing I knew, I was naked in the alley.”

The woman handed over her umbrella immediately. “Come on, let’s get you inside and dried off.”

Henry blanched. “What?”

“Well, you don’t want to be stuck down here and run the risk of getting picked up for indecent exposure, do you? You can come up to my apartment, have a shower, then call someone to come get you.”

“Are…are you sure?”

She gave him a look, her eyes flicking downward pointedly. “It’s not like you’re carrying a concealed weapon. Besides, I’ve got mace if you try anything. Now do you want my help or not?”

Another raindrop landed on Henry’s shoulder, and he shivered again. “I suppose it _would_ be prudent to get out of the rain,” he said, taking the umbrella from her, “Thank you, Miss…”

“Call me Adina,” she said, before stripping off her jacket and thrusting it in his face, “Here. It won’t fit, obviously, but you can wrap it around your waist for the short trip upstairs.”

After a few moments of awkward fumbling as Henry tried to balance the jacket and umbrella simultaneously, he finally arranged things to keep himself relatively dry and modest. Adina nodded and jerked her thumb towards the alley entrance. “Come on, this way.” Before Henry could say anything, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving him with no choice but to follow her.

Apparently unperturbed by the rain dripping on her silk blouse, Adina briskly moved towards the entrance of the apartment building, opening the door to let Henry in first. Henry walked in, smiling sheepishly at the man at the front desk, who was looking at him with a mixture of bewilderment and suspicion. “It’s all right, Alan,” Adina said, stepping around Henry, “He’s with me. Victim of a mugging. Figured I’d bring him in out of the rain.”

Henry wanted to apologize, nod, do _anything_ to alleviate the man’s suspicion, but his chilled body was having trouble adapting to the warm air of the lobby. “_Hshh!_”

A hand curled around his bicep. “See what I mean?” Adina said, “Poor guy’s soaked through.”

“Ok, Adina,” Alan said, though he still sounded skeptical, “But you press that call button the _moment_ you feel uncomfortable, all right?”

“You got it,” Adina said, keeping a grip on Henry’s arm as she tugged him towards a set of elevators, “Come on, you…”

Once they were safely (and thankfully alone) in the elevator, Adina took the umbrella away from Henry and pulled it closed. “So, what’s your name, tall, wet, and naked?”

“Henry.” Henry mumbled, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks and staring resolutely at the elevator door to avoid eye contact. He’d gone through resurrections plenty of times, but it still felt awkward being naked in front of a lady, even if this one was treating it as a common occurrence.

“So, you got anyone you can call to pick you up, Henry?”

“I…yes,” Henry said, “I have a roommate.”

“Good. You can give them a call after you’ve had a shower. Think you’ll need any bandages or painkillers or anything?”

“No, I don’t think so. Adina, I appreciate your kindness towards me, but…”

“You’re in the elevator, you can’t exactly weasel out of this now,” Adina said, “Besides, it’s not a big deal to me. I like helping people in need.”

“But I…I…_Ikshew!_”

“…just proved my point,” Adina said, the grin in her voice unmistakable, “You don’t need to get mugged _and _catch something on top of it. Look, if it makes you feel uncomfortable, you can just call your roommate and sit in the kitchen until they show up. I’d just like to feel like I helped out as best as I could.”

Her words spoke to Henry’s medical side, and he sighed. “I suppose a hot shower might be helpful in warding off the cold,” he said, “But I’ll only use it for a few minutes.”

“Every little bit helps,” Adina said as the elevator door pinged open, “Come on, I’m only a few doors down.”

Henry followed her, thankful that the hallway was empty. Adina had her keys out before they’d even passed the first door and had the key in the lock almost as soon as she was in front of it. A quick twist, and the door swung open, revealing a small but comfortable looking apartment. “Bathroom’s down the hall, first door,” Adina said, moving over to the kitchen-living room area, “And when you’re done, you can use my phone to call your roommate. Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can find you something other than a towel to sit in while you wait.”

Henry nodded and made his way to the bathroom. It was a little cramped, especially once he’d closed the door, but the shower knobs turned immediately, and the water was warm in a matter of seconds. Not wanting to waste time, he jumped into the shower, rubbing his arms and legs to make sure everything was circulating properly.

Since he didn’t have his watch with him, he wasn’t sure how long he actually spent under the hot water. But he wanted to be true to his word, so after giving everything a quick rubdown, he turned off the water and stepped out. There was a folded towel on top of the toilet, and he dried himself off carefully before wrapping it around his waist and venturing out into the main apartment again.

Adina was in the kitchen, rooting around a cupboard while the timer ticked down on the microwave. She must have noticed him peripherally, because she said “My cell phone’s on the table. I also pulled out my bathrobe. It’s probably still too small for you, but it’s definitely warm.”

Henry saw the robe draped over a chair and pulled it on, not particularly caring that it was emblazoned with bright pink roses. Surprisingly, it was only a little snug, and the plush fabric felt nice against his shoulders. Tightening the belt around his waist, he picked up the phone and called the antique store.

Abe answered on the second ring. “Abe’s Antiques.”

“Abe, it’s me.”

“Don’t tell me; you’ve had another one of your rebirths.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Henry said, very aware of Adina’s presence.

Abe sighed. “Ok, where do I need to pick you up?”

“Umm…” Henry looked over at Adina. “What’s this place called?”

“Scott Apartments,” Adina said over her shoulder, “Apartment 1006.”

Henry relayed this information to Abe, and he could _hear_ his son’s eyebrows raising over the phone. “Ok then…” he said after a moment, “I should be over in about fifteen minutes. Stay out of trouble.”

“I’ll do my best.” Henry promised, hanging up.

As he set the phone down, he found a bowl of soup and a mug of steaming liquid had been set in front of him. Adina was sitting across from him, grinning slightly. “Figured some chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate wouldn’t hurt.”

“Thank you.” Henry said, taking up the spoon and sipping the soup carefully. It was that awful canned stuff you microwaved, but the heat did feel good, and he certainly wasn’t about to hurt Adina’s feelings by criticizing her food. So he smiled slightly, nodded, and took another spoonful.

While he ate, he turned his mind inwards, trying to spot any early symptoms brought on by his resurrection. He wasn’t particularly cold anymore, and he didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary when he swallowed. Really, the only thing that wasn’t “normal” was a lingering ache in his nose, mostly likely due to the constant bombardments of water inside and against it. The odds were surprisingly good that he’d avoid any sort of major illness this time.

Thinking about his nose caused it to prickle again, and he quickly set down the spoon and pinched his nose. “_Ktnxt!_”

Something poked his elbow, and he looked up to see Adina offering him a box of tissues. He took it from her and pulled one out of the box to wipe at his nose. She shifted her weight, folding her arms on the table. “So tell me, Henry, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a medical examiner for the New York police.” Henry answered, feeling like she deserved some honest small talk, at least.

She whistled. “No wonder they went after you. Doctor’s wallets are prime targets.”

“Yes, well, I try to be discreet.” Henry said dryly, sipping at the hot chocolate. He was pleasantly surprised at the rich taste, instead of the usual store-bought wateriness. Apparently Adina wasn’t immune to the charms of a proper hot drink.

“Maybe so,” Adina was saying, “But the fact of the matter is, they targeted you. You _had_ to have stood out in some way for them to single you out.”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” Henry said honestly, “Let’s turn the tables. What do _you_ do?”

She laughed. “Fair enough. I’m in business. Low level Wall Street. You know the type.”

“Actually, not really,” Henry said, “Care to elaborate?”

  
Just as he’d predicted, that was enough to get her talking about her job and her life, taking the focus off Henry and allowing him to finish his soup, chiming in just enough to encourage her. She was impassioned enough about it to make it an interesting one-sided conversation, though, and was in the middle of discussing her networking strategy when the intercom near the door buzzed. “Ah!” she said, and gave Henry a grin before getting to her feet to answer it. “What is it, Alan?” she asked, as soon as she pressed the button.

“There’s an old guy here looking for someone named Henry Morgan. He gave your apartment number. Is that the…”

  
“Yep,” Adina said, “Go ahead, send him up.” She stepped away from the intercom and turned back to Henry. “Anything else I can get you for the road?”

“Just a few of these.” Henry said, pulling out a handful of tissues. The feeling in his nose was mostly gone, but it was better to be prepared.

“Of course,” she said, smiling warmly, “Take all you need.”

Henry smiled back and downed the last of the hot chocolate just as the intercom buzzed again. Henry got to his feet and was halfway across the room by the time Adina had opened the door to reveal Abe peering at her suspiciously. “Where’s Henry?”

“I’m here, Abraham,” Henry said, stepping into Abe’s line of vision, “Thank you for coming to pick me up.”

Abe blinked as he took in what Henry was wearing. Henry instinctively drew the bathrobe around his shoulders and straightened his posture. “Miss Adina was kind enough to lend me something warm while I waited for you.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got something a little more hefty here,” Abe said, holding out one of Henry’s long coats, “Miss, if you wouldn’t mind…” he added, stepping into the apartment and pointing to the far wall. Adina grinned and obligingly turned away as Henry changed coats. As soon as he felt presentable, Henry cleared his throat and held out his hand.

“I should be going. Thank you so much for your help and hospitality, Adina.”

“It was my pleasure,” she said, shaking his hand, “And you know, I understand if you want to put your mugging out of your mind, but you don’t have to be a stranger if you don’t want to be. You know my apartment number, after all.”

Taken aback at her boldness, Henry stuttered for a moment before saying “I…I’ll have to think about it. Still, I apprecia…”

Just at that moment, the ache in his nose spiked one last time, and Henry was forced to press his handful of tissues hard against his face in an attempt to contain the sneeze. “_Ay-eshoo!_”

“Bless you.” Abe said automatically from behind him.

Sniffing and blushing, Henry looked up to apologize to Adina, only to find her looking at him with her head tilted to one side, an odd expression on her face. “The sentiment is noted,” she said, before glancing over his shoulder, “But you’d better go. Your roommate’s getting impatient with me. See you around, Henry.”

“Goodbye, Adina.” Henry said politely, before Abe dragged him out the door.

“I can’t believe the cheek of that woman!” Abe said, once they were in the elevator, “Hitting on you so openly, when she thought you’d just been mugged!”

“Maybe it was a little abrupt,” Henry acknowledged, “But she wasn’t sure if we’d run into each other again, so I’m willing to forgive her her bluntness.”

Abe grumbled and lowered his voice as they entered the main lobby. “Even so, she could have at least had the courtesy to bless you when you sneezed like that. She might be compassionate, but I don’t know if she has any manners.”

He kept going on in that vein, but Henry tuned him out, having been struck by Abe’s comment. It was true; Adina hadn’t blessed him at any point he’d been with her, though she did offer him tissues. Maybe the act of sneezing disgusted her? His mind drifted back to her expression after his last sneeze, and he tried to parse it out. No, that hadn’t been the look of someone trying to hide a grimace. If anything, she’d almost been smiling. But it was her eyes that had been really unusual. She’d been looking right at him, but they had seemed glazed, unfocused, and they had seemed bigger, somehow, like they had been widened…

…Or dilated.

“She liked them!” Henry said abruptly, as all the pieces clicked together.

“Liked what?” Abe said, looking up from fumbling with his car keys.

“She wasn’t blessing me because she liked my sneezing, and probably felt self-conscious drawing too much attention to it.”

Abe looked at him, incredulous. “Really?”

“It makes sense,” Henry said, easily springing into Deduction Mode, “Quickly having soup and tissues to hand, being insistent on getting me out of the rain…now that I think about it, my sneezing is probably what alerted her to my predicament in the first place.”

“Sneezing.” Abe repeated flatly, “You’re saying she’s…turned on by sneezing.”

“It’s the best working theory I’ve got,” Henry said, getting into the car, “Not that it matters. She was willing to help me, and I’m grateful for that, regardless of if she had any ulterior motives.”

Abe shrugged and started the car. “Well, I guess no harm’s been done. You think you’re gonna see her again?”

“I’ll have to think about it,” Henry said again, before adding with a faint smile, “But one thing is certain; if I do, I won’t be bringing her flowers.”


End file.
